Toy airplane



April 7, 1931. p, T|M$QN 1,799,936

TOY AIRPLANE.

Filed April 16, 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 lriven'for. Roscoe P. Timson b MS-JZIW Afivs.

.R. P. TIMSON April 7, 1931.

TOY AIRPLANE Filed April 16, 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 lnvenToT". Roscoe, PTim so n A'iTys.

Patented Apr. 7, 1931 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ROSCOE P. TIMsON, OF LYNN, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR 0F ONE-HALF To DAISY n JOHNSTON, or BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS TOY AIRPLANE Application filed April 16,

This invention relates to toy airplanes and gravity gliders and has for one of its objects to provide various improvements in toy airplanes which make for lightness in weight and ruggedness in construction and otherwise to improve toy airplanes in various features all as will be more fully hereinafter set forth.

In Order to give an understanding of the invention I have illustrated in the drawings a selected embodiment thereof which will now be described after which the novel features will be pointed out in the appended claims.

Fig. 1 is a top plan view of a toy airplane embodying my invention;

Fig. 2 is a front View;

Fig. 3 is a side view;

Fig. 4 illustrates the manner in which the wings are formed;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged section on the line 55, F ig. 1;

Fig. 6 is a section on the line 6-6, Fig. 1;

Fig. 7 is an enlarged section on the line '77, Fig. 3;

Fig 8 shows a diflerent form of the invention' F fg. 9 is a section on the line 99, Fig. 1

Fig. 10 is an under side view of a toy airplane and gravity glider having a little different construction from that Shown in Fig. 1

.Fig. 11 is a side of the device shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 12 is a Section Fig. 10;

Fig. 18 is a section Fig. 11;

Fig. 14 is a section on theline 14-44, Fig. 10;

Fig. 15 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional detail View illustrating one manner of supporting the propeller;

Fig. 16 is a perspective view of the supporting bracket in which the propeller shaft is mounted;

Fig. 17 is a section Fig. 15.

The toy is of the monoplanet'ype and it comprises the usual body 1 and main wing sections 2 and 3. These parts may conveniently be made of some light but strong wood such as balsa Wood.

on the line 12-12,

on the line 1318,

on the line 1717,

tive pressure. p In the warped assume a gliding position Serial No. 355,606.

. any tendency toward nose-diving is automatically corrected so that the toy will maintain its flight as long as it has suflicient air speed. This end is accomplished byarran ing the wings so that they incline bac wardly slightlyand also have a dihedral angle and further by so constructing them that during flight there is a negative pressure on the tips of the wings with a positive pressure on the wings adjacent the body. The dihedral angle is illustrated in Fig. 2 and said figure also shows the tips 4 of the wings warped slightly so as to produce the desired negawingsv the 'rear edges 5 at the tip are raised slightly relative to the front edges 6 with the result that during flight there will be a slight'downward pressure on thetips of the wings. The main body of the wings, however, is shapedto give the necessary lifting effect.

The airplane is provided with the usual rudder 7 and elevator 8, the latter being preferably set at a negative angle relative to the main wings. Furthermore, the airplane is constructed so that its center of gravity is well forward near the leading edge of the wing. With this construction of main wing and elevator and this forward position of the center of gravity the airplane will always as soon as it is launched and will maintain such position throughout its flight. V

The correct balance in the toy airplane is secured by incorporating in the body or the wings suitable balance weights. For instance, the body 1 is provided with a trans verse opening 9 near its nose end which is adapted to receive a weight 10 which may be of lead or any other heavy metal. If desired, the body may be provided with two or three such openings as indicated in F ig. 8 and the correct number of weights will be inserted in the openings to give the proper balance. These weights may conveniently be ordinary shot such as is used in shot guns.

Similarly, I propose to place balance weights in the front edges of the wings 2 and 3 for the purpose of obtaining proper lateral balance and compensating for any unevenness in the weight of the wings, for which purpose said edges may be provided with slits into which thin fiat sheets 11 of lead or other heavy material may be inserted. WVith this construction the desired weight can be added to the front edge of the wings without increasing the thicirness of the wings.

In order to strengthen and protect the wings I propose to bind the front edges thereof with tape 12 as shown best in Figs. 1 and 6. This tape can conveniently be a strip of adhesive tape which is folded about the edge of the wing and adheres thereto. The warped ends of the wings are also shown as being stiffened by tape 13 which is wound thereabout, said tape serving not only to prevent the tips of the wings from splitting but also serving to help maintain the warped shape.

As a further means for protecting the warped tips of the wings and for maintaining the warped shape I propose to apply a layer of covering of adhesive tape on the under side of said wings as shown in Figs. 10 and 12. This not only protects the tip of the wing but also stiffens the wing at this oint.

The two wings 2 and 3 are made from a single sheet of wood or other material and are thus integral with each other and in order to give the dihedral effect this wood sheet-is cracked slightly transversely at its central point. This can conveniently be done by placing the sheetof wood indicated at 14: in Fig. i on a templet or support 15 which is provided with a groove 16 and then striking the upper face of the sheet a blow along the groove by a suitable implement such as shown at 17 This will crack the wood at this point without breaking it in two and will thus give the dihedral angle effect to the wings.

The two connected wings are secured to the body by being set into a recess 18 formed in the top edge of the body, the portion 0 the wings in which the transverse crack is formed occupying this recess. The wing is glued to the body and then the central portion of the wing has adhesive tape 29 applied thereto which gives it the necessary strength notwithstanding the fact that the wood is cracked slightly along the line of junction between the two wings. An advantage of this construction is that the dihedral effect in an airplane having wooden wings can be secured without increasing the weight of the wing structure. By making the wings of balsa wood an extremely light yet sufficiently strong wing can be produced and by this operation of cracking the sheet of wood centrally, said sheet can be bent along the crack to produce the dihedral effect and f vided with a propeller.

yet have the two wings integrally connected together.

In Figs. 10 to 14 I have shown a toy airplane or gravity glider embodying the invention but having a slightly different construction. In this embodiment the body is more in the form of a stick and the onepiece wing structure 2, 3 is secured to the body by means of cords 11 which extend through apertures in the wing structure and are tied about the body 40. In this embodiment the top face 42 of the body is flat for a considerable length and the proper balance may be given to the device by shifting the wing structure back and forth along the body. The manner of securing the wings to the body permits this to be done.

In the construction shown in these figures also the rudder 7 is provided at its rear edge with a flexible fin 43 which is so con-g structed that it can be readily set at different angles as shown in dotted lines Fig. 15 and will retain its shape when thus set. One convenient way of making this rudder is to take a piece of adhesive tape of a proper width and double it on itself with the adhesive faces meeting and then to apply this tape to the rear edge of the rudder. The folded tape can be bent at different angles and will retain its bent shape. The advanage of this construction is that by setting the rudder at different angles the device may be made to sail either in a circle or along a straight course depending upon the adjustment of the rudder.

The rudder is also further stiffened by narrow strips 44 of tape which encircle it transversely, and these tape strips 44; lie on the outside of the flexible fin 13, an advantage of which construction is that they serve to resist any tendency of the tape which forms the fin from breaking away from the wooden portion of the rudder. This flexible trailing edge feature can also be applied to the elevator 8 and wing tips 2 and 3 if desired.

The toy airplane may or may not be pro- If no propeller is used as shown in Figs. 10 and 11 then the device functions as a sail plane or glider and when launched it will sail by gravity in a continuous flight, the length of which depends upon the altitude from which the device is launched. As stated above, the construction is such that the glider will maintain a gliding position throughout its flight. This ability to maintain its balance and gliding position throughout the extent of its flight is due to the constructional features herein described.

If the device is provided with a propeller then the duration of its flight will, of course, be increased. The construction shown in Figs. 1 to 5 is provided with a propeller 19 which may be operated in any suitable way.

The propeller is so mounted that it can swing into positions more or less parallel to the length of the body so that when the device lands the propeller is permitted to give, thereby preventing it from being broken. This may be accomplished in various ways.

In Figs. 1 to 5 the propeller is mounted upon a flexible shaft 20 which finds bearing in a bearing bracket 21 at the nose of the body. The flexible shaft 20 may conveniently be formed from a coil of wire arranged with the turns of the coil in contact with each other. This provides the desired flexibility to the shaft to permit the pro-- peller to swing into an angular position as shown by dotted lines Fig. 1.

Any suitable motor device may be used for actuating the propeller. In Figs. 1 and 3 I have shown for this purpose a rubber band 23, which is secured at one end to the flexible shaft 20 and at the other end to the rudder. By turning the propeller by hand in the proper direction before the ship is launched the rubber band 23 will be wound up thus storing up energy which will operate to rotate the propeller when the device is set free. The propeller, of course, will lengthen considerably the extent of the flight.

If when the device lands the propeller tends to strike the ground it can give or swing into a position more or less parallel to the body 1 because the flexibility of the shaft 20 and thus the likelihood of the propeller becoming broken is very greatly lessened.

In the device shown in Fig. 5 the supporting bracket 21 is provided with the arm portion 22 which is driven into the end of the body 1. The nose of the body is shown as protected by adhesive tape 26, 27. The strip 26 extends fore and'aft and covering the opening 9 while the strip 27 extends over the top side of the body at the front end.

In Figs. 15, 16 and 17 I have shown a little different mounting for the propeller. In this embodiment of the invention the shaft of the propeller is a flexible wire 45 which is supported by a bracket member 46. This bracket member 46 has a horizontal arm 47 underlying the body 1 and ithas the upstanding arm 48 situated in front of the body and provided with the aperture 49 through which the wire 45 extends. This bracket is provided with the clamping ears 50 on its end which embrace the sides of the body 1, each ear being formed with a spur 51 that is embedded in the body.

The bracket is held in position by an adhesive tape 52 which is wound about the body at the nose thereof and about the horizontal portion 47 of the bracket arm 46. This tape not only protects the nose of the body but serves to hold the bracket arm 46 in correct position, The aperture 49 will preferably be made slightly larger in diameter than the wire 45 and this feature of construction together with the flexibility of the wire 45 permits the propeller to yield or give in case it engages an obstacle when the device comes toearth from a flight.

In Fig. 8 I have shown a little different construction wherein the nose of the body 1 is protected by a metal member 54 which covers the nose and is formed with spurs 55 that may be driven into the body.

The balance of the model having the propeller is practically the same as that of the glider so that if during the flight of the propeller driven model the motor runs down the device will then automatically assume and maintain a gliding position in the manner above described and will even function as a sail plane in upward currents of air.

I claim.

1. A toy airplane and glider comprising a body portion, two wooden wings integral with each other and forming a dihedral angle, said wings being made from a single sheet of wood which is cracked sufliciently at its central portion to produce the dihedral efi'ect, and a strip of adhesive tape overlying the cracked portion of the wing structure and adhesively secured to the upper surface of the vi lings thereby to maintain said dihedral s ape.

2. A toy airplane and glider comprising a body portion having a wing-receiving face formed on its upper side, two wings integral with each other and forming a dihedral angle, said wings formed from a single sheet of wood which is secured to said face, said sheet being cracked centrally in the direction of the length of the body and at the portion of the wing which contacts with said face,

7 and re-enforcing tape adhesively secured to the upper surface of said wings at the cracked portion thereby to maintain said dihedral angle.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification.

ROSCOE P. TIMSON. 

